Adopt-an-Estuary Curriculum

This program is designed to get students in grades 8-12 actively involved in discovering and protecting Wisconsin’s most unique aquatic environment & its freshwater estuaries.

The program’s goal is for students to study and formally adopt a Wisconsin estuary. Progressing through the curriculum’s levels and completing assignments that support the level’s objectives achieve the steps required to “file” adoption papers. The curriculum is “issue-based”. It challenges students to use knowledge to investigate and resolve problems.

The curriculum is arranged in four levels, each with three units. Each level has a different focus. As students progress through the curriculum “wheel”, they move from a basic understanding of estuaries, to identifying specific issues based on data they’ve collected, to creating solutions to help resolve the problem and demonstrate environmental stewardship. The curriculum ends with the students filing “adoption papers” with the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, for formal recognition of their project and estuary stewardship. Read more here